You take aim and shoot at the slaver. However, your injured eye means that you wildly miss the shot. Before you can dive into cover the slaver hits you squarely in the chest and you fall bleeding to the floor. <html><img src="PlanetsSouth.png" /></html>

You decide that your time off is too valuable. Anyway, they should be able to handle the situation without you. You spend the next two weeks enjoying yourself in the depths of the planet. When you've had your fill of spelunking you return to the surface. You go to contact your ship to pick you up, when you realise that you threw your radio away.\n<html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>\n[[Swear loudly]]\n\n[[Make camp]]\n\n[[Try to find civilisation]]

You decide that trying to reach the black box is too risky and turn in the opposite direction. You make your way to the engine room, looking for survivors along the way. You can't find anyone, but you do notice that one of the coolant pipes is leaking. You turn to run, but in the explosion some bits of you turn quicker than others. The next thing that you notice is an angel approaching you with open wings. She welcomes you and gives you a gentle peck on the cheek. "Please come with me," she says.\n<html><img src="Crash.png" /></html>\n[['So you don't mind the incident with the drugs then?']]\n\n[['I intend to, if you know what I mean']]

You collect your gear and head out. You stumble over the loose rocks and small crevices, carefully searching for whatever made the noise. You lose your footing a few times, but you manage not to injure yourself. After a long time of searching without result, you begin to wonder if you made the right decision.\n<html><img src="Hills.png" /></html>\n[[Head back to camp|Camp from hills]]\n\n[[Climb further up the hills]]

"What is the riddle?" you reply.\n"What came first, the chicken or the egg?"\n<html><img src="TerminusSouth.png" /></html>\n[[The chicken|Eaten]]\n\n[[The egg|Eaten]]\n\n[['Me, motherflapper!']]

You knock cautiously on the door before entering. After a brief search you don't find anybody. Just as you are about to leave you feel a double barreled shotgun being pressed into your back.\n"What are you doing here?"\n<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>\n[['I'm trying to contact my ship']]\n\n[['Your mum']]

Captain's Holiday

You easily track down the slaver and his small fleet of ships. You offer him a chance to surrender but he opens fire. Exploiting the weaknesses of his ship you quickly take the slaver out of the fight. In the ensuing battle his ship is destroyed. Your ships seem to have the upper hand until reinforcements arrive for the enemy. It looks like the slaver had time to prepare as well. You fight to the last man but in the end none of your ships are left standing.\n<html><img src="Battle2.png" /></html>

You turn your back on the scene, certain in the knowledge that there are no survivors. As you cross the plains again you realise that you have no rations left. You eventually make your way back to the campsite, but you slowly wither away over the coming days.<html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>

You know of a guy who might have some useful information so you head for a nearby space station. You find your informant and ask about the slaver. He tells you where you are likely to find him, and points out a few weaknesses in his ship. You slide a few coins over the table and head back to The Mallard.\n<html><img src="PlanetsSouth.png" /></html>\n[[Try to obtain more information from the derelict ships]]\n\n[[Head to the slaver's location]]

<<silently>><<set $badinfo = 1>><<endsilently>>You set course for a station that even criminals steer clear of. You dock with the station and head to the bar. You make your way to a guy who is known for selling information. You ask about the slaver after paying an uncomfortably large surcharge. In exchange, he gives you some fairly vague information about which planet the slaver uses to sell his merchandise. You thank him anyway and quickly make it back to your ship.\n<html><img src="ShipScene.png" /></html>\n[[Go to the planet]]\n\n<<if ($goodinfo eq 0)>>[[Try to get more information|Go to the dodgy space station]]<<endif>><<if ($goodinfo eq 1)>>[[Go to his last known location]]<<endif>>

You start travelling east. The journey is fairly uninteresting. You come across the word 'Terminus' scorched into the ground on several occasions - it seems a little odd at first, but you assume that it's just some kind of publicity stunt. You eventually reach the shapes, which do indeed appear to be buildings.\n<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>\n[[Try the nearest dwelling]]\n\n[[Try a shop]]\n\n[[Carry on down the street]]

You know of a guy who might have some useful information so you head for a nearby space station. You find your informant and ask about the slaver. He tells you where you are likely to find him, and points out a few weaknesses in his ship. You slide a few coins over the table and head back to The Mallard. You feel fully prepared to take on the slaver.\n<html><img src="PlanetsSouth.png" /></html>\n[[Confront the slaver]]

You manage to squeeze through the warped metal and make it to the bridge. In front of the door to the bridge is a small metal strut. You force it aside, causing the rest of the corridor to collapse behind you. You realise that you are now trapped inside the bridge. As you come to terms with your inevitably boring death you decide to find out what actually happened to the ship. You manage to retrieve the black box and play it back, only to find out that someone had used it to record an episode of Birds of a Feather. It was a bad episode.<html><img src="Crash.png" /></html>

You decide that it's not worth trying to get your money back and beat a hasty retreat. On the way to your ship, you happen to go to through the nominally designated 'garden'. To your surprise, someone matching the exact description of the slaver is standing against one of the walls, peeing into a pot-plant. An honourable person would not kill a man with his back turned, let alone if he was peeing at the time. After a short internal dialogue you decide that honourable people end up dead more often than not, and shoot the slaver in the back. You take a moment to lament your lost crew, whose life of servitude you just ensured. You decide that when you tell this story to your grandchildren, you'll probably leave that out. Oh, and the bit about the peeing.\n<html><img src="PlanetsSouth.png" /></html>\nTHE END

You look around, but you can't see any creatures nearby. You conclude that the noise came from far away across the plains, or perhaps beyond some nearby hills.\n<html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>\n[[Head towards the plains]]\n\n[[Head towards the hills]]

You decide that the noise must have come from across the plains. You spend the next couple of hours mindlessly wandering the flat landscape. The only movement you see is a shooting star in the sky. After it falls off the horizon, you notice a faint orange glow in the distance.\n<html><img src="Plains.png" /></html>\n[[Carry on]]

If the signal is the slaver he might not be there for long. You decide to head straight for the planet. As you approach the planet you discover that your second in command was correct. You see the slaver leaving with half a dozen other ships. When they see you however, the ships move to intercept you. Clearly outnumbered you attempt to flee, but one of the ships disables your engines. Helpless they board your ship and overpower your crew.\n<html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>\n[[Attack your captors]]\n\n[[Offer no resistance]]

You see some small hills nearby and decide to climb them to get a better view of the area. Off to the east you see some shapes on the horizon that could be buildings. However, you remember seeing settlements to the south when you arrived on the planet.\n<html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>\n[[Go east]]\n\n[[Go south]]

I don't know why you thought it was a good idea to antagonise a woman who was holding a double barreled shotgun to your back, but it wasn't.<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>

This seemed like a good idea at the time. You reflect on the last fifteen minutes as you sit smothered in butter with a sprig of parsley wedged where the sun doesn't shine. You realise now that trying to fix a radio when you had never passed any engineering course was never going to end well. It usually took you the best part of an afternoon just to change the batteries in the remote control, and the small electronical parts got you all in a flap. Even if by some miracle you had managed to fix the radio, that old thing couldn't realistically reach anything further than the bathroom.\nThis was not your finest moment.<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>

Unsurprisingly, propositioning an angel in such a crude manner doesn't go well. She slaps you hard enough to knock you out, but the smell of fire and brimstone soon fixes that. You realise where you are but decide not to accept it. You spend the rest of eternity covering your ears and keeping your eyes shut. <html><img src="Crash.png" /></html>

Created for [[Ludum Dare 29|http://ludumdare.com]]: Beneath the Surface

The angel winks at you.\n"We've all experimented in our youth." She leads you to another angel. "This is Peter. You could say he rules the roost around here. He has an offer for you. If you can beat him in a game of chess, you can return to the world and try to save your friends." You accept and enter the most heated game of chess ever. After what seems like an eternity you see an opportunity to win the game, but it is quite risky.\n<html><img src="Heaven.png" /></html>\n[[Knight to E5]]\n\n[[Bishop to C6]]

You hurriedly explain how to fly the ship. Unfortunately the ship cook doesn't understand what you're telling him to do. Through an unlikely series of button presses he manages to perfectly aim the ship at the building you are currently occupying, and your final monologue on the subtleties of space-flight is cut short by a seventy-ton spaceship landing on your head. <html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>

You run at the slaver and jump towards him in an attempt to tackle him to the ground. However, the injury to your leg reduces the power of your jump and you fall short. As you scramble to stand up the slaver shoots you in the back of the head and you die. <html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>

You valiantly try to keep on fighting. You repel the boarders but your damaged hull is too much for your ship to take. Another hit finishes you off.\n<html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>

Before you can react the creature pounces on you and tears out your heart. The last thing you see is him sprinkling salt on your still beating organ. <html><img src="TerminusSouth.png" /></html>

<<silently>><<set $crash = 1>>\n<<endsilently>>You hunt around for some dry wood to make a fire. After making a rudimentary camp and a meal from some leftover rations, you try to get some sleep. A few restless hours pass. You try to get comfortable on the hard ground but the dust and sand gets everywhere. Just as you finally start to drift off you hear a strange, guttural moan somewhere far off in the distance.\n<html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>\n[[Try to discover what made the noise]]\n\n[[Forget it and go to sleep]]

<<silently>><<set $eye = 1>><<endsilently>>The Mallard sends out one of its smaller craft to pick you up. The wind visibly disturbs the shuttle's approach, but it arrives safely nonetheless. You hop onboard and it lifts off. On the way back to your ship, the turbulence throws you out of your seat, and something hits you painfully in the eye, but you make it back to the ship in one piece. The ship's doctor quickly takes a look at your eye and assures you it will be alright, but you'll have to wear an eyepatch for a few days.\n<html><img src="ShipScene.png" /></html>\n[[Head to the bridge]]

The onlooking grandmasters gasp at your brilliance. Shocked by such a bold move, Peter forfeits the game. He keeps his word and sends you back. You look around and find that you are in the cavern from two weeks ago. "Captain, we need you on the bridge right now. We have a situation up here." You look down and see that you are holding your radio. <<set $crash = 0>>\n<html><img src="CaveTorch.png" /></html>\n[[Return to your ship]]\n\n[[Throw the radio into the chasm behind you]]

You see an opportunity to surprise one of the slaver's men. You steal his weapon and knock him out. However you are still outnumbered and are easily subdued again. Instead of risking another escape attempt, this time they decide that it would be easier to just execute you. <html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>

You explain your situation to the woman and ask if she has a radio you could use to contact your ship. She tells you that her radio is broken, but she offers you a deal. If you can fix her radio she will let you use it. However if you try and fail she will eat you for dinner.\n<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>\n[[Try to fix the radio]]\n\n[[Politely decline her offer]]

You slowly back out of the building away from the crazy person. There must be someone else here with a radio that you can use.\n<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>\n[[Head down the street|Carry on down the street]]

You run at the slaver and jump towards him, tackling him to the ground. You subdue him and bind him in his own restraints. In the chaos you manage to free your crew, and with their help you eliminate the rest of the guards. You contact command and set about rescuing the other slaves. A few ships arrive to transport the liberated slaves, bringing The Mallard in tow. You return home with your crew to a hero's welcome, and you are awarded the highest military honour: the Golden Egg.\n<html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>\nTHE END

It sounded like the noise came echoing across the plains, so you collect your gear and head out towards the horizon. You spend the next couple of hours mindlessly wandering the flat landscape. The only movement you see is a shooting star in the sky. As you notice a faint orange glow in the distance, you begin to wonder if you made the right decision.\n<html><img src="Plains.png" /></html>\n[[Head back to camp|Camp from plains]]\n\n[[Carry on]]

You know these corridors well enough - no need to waste the battery.\n\nYou take three steps forwards and are surprised to find that there is no ground. The last thoughts that run through your head struggle to accommodate the stalagmite, but eventually decide to find better lodgings elsewhere.<html><img src="Cave.png" /></html>

Taking your crew was one thing, but almost destroying your ship was just vindictive. You decide that the slaver must die. You vow to never rest until you have tasted his blood. You set out to find where the coward is hiding - you know of a few space stations where shady characters usually hang out, they might be able to provide some useful information.\n<html><img src="ShipScene.png" /></html>\n[[Go to the dodgy space station]]\n\n[[Go to the very dodgy space station]]

After a short while longer you find a small cave in the hillside. You bravely venture inside. As the light begins to dim, a foul smell of rotting flesh fills the air. You decide to leave the cave, but as you turn around you bump into something big and furry. You spend the rest of your life happy and content that you found out what was making that noise.<html><img src="Hills.png" /></html>

You follow the information you were given and soon find the slaver. Your informant neglected to mention though that the slaver doesn't work alone. You find yourself outnumbered and surrounded. You think that you can destroy the slavers ship with the information that you have, but you can't defeat all these ships alone.\n<html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>\n[[Attack the slaver]]\n\n[[Surrender|Offer no resistance]]

You push the door of the shop open and pop your head in. You hear a metallic click, and then you realise that you are looking at your own back. Apparently the shopkeeper didn't want to be disturbed so he shot you with his shotgun. You make a note to improve your browsing etiquette in future. <html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>

Written by [[Andy Collins|http://twitter.com/10010010010112]]\nStyled by [[Jamie Bayne|http://twitter.com/GazokMes]]

You respond to the radio. Only an idiot would put his personal enjoyment over the potential safety of his crew. You tell your crew where to pick you up and head to the surface. As you cross the rocky terrain you catch a glimpse of The Mallard hovering above the ground. As you survey your surroundings you notice that there is nowhere for the ship to land.\n<html><img src="ShipScene.png" /></html>\n[[Ask them to send a shuttle]]\n\n[[Ask them to fire a grapple]]

In the first few volleys you manage to disable the slaver's ship. As you move in for the kill the other ships move to protect the slaver. They make short work of your ship and quickly destroy it. <html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>

The radio crackles into life and you hear a voice on the other end. "Captain! Thank God you're alive! I don't have time to explain, but the ship is crashing and I don't know what to do. Help!"\n<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>\n[[Ask what happened]]\n\n[[Try to explain what to do]]

<<silently>>\n<<set $crash = 0>>\n<<set $goodinfo = 0>>\n<<set $badinfo = 0>>\n<<set $eye = 0>>\n<<endsilently>>You look up into the sky and admire the beauty of the twin moons, dancing a graceful waltz through space. "I won't be seeing anything as pretty as that where I'm going," you think to yourself, as you jump into the gaping chasm and fall into the dark abyss below. The rope catches you before you hit the ground. You unhook the safety equipment and then head down the tunnel in front of you, away from any beautiful sights and into the endless darkness.\n<<loopsound "music.ogg">><html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>\n[[Reach for your torch]]\n\n[[Continue on without any light]]

You choose not to take the risk and head to the settlements that you saw earlier. You prepare yourself for the long walk ahead. Not long into your journey, however, you see a large creature blocking your path. As you approach it you notice that it has the body of a human, but the hind legs of a ferocious beast.\n"Halt! You may pass only if you can answer me my riddle!" the creature proclaims.\n<html><img src="TerminusSouth.png" /></html>\n[['What is the riddle?']]\n\n[[Turn and run|Eaten]]

You turn on your trusty torch and start to explore the building. This place is\nclearly abandoned. As you clamber over tables and various pieces of broken\nequipment, you notice something shiny reflecting the light from your torch. You head over to it for a better look; fully illuminated, you see that it is a small solar panel. You follow the wires that are attached to it, and discover that the solar panel is connected to a small but very enthusiastic bomb. You might have wondered who in the world would make a solar-powered bomb, if your wondering apparatus wasn't currently spread over most of the ceiling.<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>

Begrudgingly you head towards the hills. You stumble over the loose rocks and small crevices, carefully searching for whatever made that noise. You lose your footing a few times, but you manage not to injure yourself. After a long search, you begin to think that maybe you were imagining things.\n<html><img src="Hills.png" /></html>\n[[Climb further up the hills]]

You give in to your hunger. Your ship will still be there after dinner. After a few minutes, a delivery boy arrives with a Vegetarian Surprise. You thoroughly enjoy the pizza, until you realise that you are deathly allergic to sweetcorn. This realisation arrives along with a variety of unfortunate bodily functions that will not be expanded upon here. Suffice it to say, you die... messily. <html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>

You release your rage upon the skies. After a few minutes you stop shouting. You feel slightly immature now.\n<html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>\n[[Make camp]]\n\n[[Try to find civilisation]]

You attack the creature before he has any chance to react. You viciously tear into him, and somehow end up holding his spleen. You toss it aside as you turn to face a horde of similar looking creatures, and wonder just how many splenectomies you can be expected to perform. Unexpectedly, however, instead of queuing up for elective surgery, they prostrate themselves before you. Over the following days you learn that you killed their King, and by ancient tradition that makes you their leader. You live out the rest of your life in luxury - you may have to create the occasional riddle now and then, but your entourage of concubines more than makes up for it.<html><img src="TerminusSouth.png" /></html>

You pull out your gun. You are not Han Solo. <html><img src="PlanetsSouth.png" /></html>

You have many strengths and a wide variety of skills. Chess is not one of them. You spend the rest of eternity not enjoying paradise, but reading books on chess tactics. It doesn't help.<html><img src="Heaven.png" /></html>

At the other end of the street is a large building. From the outside it looks like it could be some sort of scientific facility. Surely they must have a radio. Surely nothing can go wrong here. You walk up to the door but as you reach out to knock it, the door slowly creaks open. You peer into the darkness.\n<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>\n[[Reach for your torch|Torch death]]\n\n[[Head inside]]

Dejected, you return to camp. You settle down and try to go to sleep when you hear the noise again.\n<html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>\n[[Just ignore it]]\n\n[[Try searching the plains instead]]

Your fleet heads out to the supposed location of the slaver. It turns out that the rumours were correct. Your ships engage the enemy in an all out battle. At some point your ship is hit and a large section of the outer hull is damaged. Soon after you are boarded.\n<html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>\n[[Carry on fighting]]\n\n[[Retreat|Offer no resistance]]

"Captain, we need you on the bridge right now. We have a situation up here." You sigh loudly to yourself. You haven't had any time off for months, and you were looking forward to some light spelunking. You stare at the radio in your hand.\n<html><img src="CaveTorch.png" /></html>\n[[Return to your ship]]\n\n[[Throw the radio into the chasm behind you]]

You head towards his last known location and find his ship after a short while. He is not alone though. You have one ship and no crew. He has seven ships and fifteen crews. The laws of mathematics win. <html><img src="PlanetsSouth.png" /></html>

You decide that the noise was too far off to be any real danger, and give in to your exhaustion. That morning, you wake up to find that you were mauled in the night. Clearly some wild animal found you and thought that you looked quite tasty. You would try to figure out what kind of animal it was, but you are more distracted by the question of how you managed to wake up despite being obviously dead.<html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>

You can't take it. You collapse to the floor, distraught.\nYou find yourself too emotionally drained to move.\n\nSome point in the distant future, an archaeological dig discovers a mysterious fossil near some confusing metal artifacts. They mistake the scene for something historically significant.<html><img src="Crash.png" /></html>

You take aim and shoot the slaver right between the eyes. In the chaos you manage to free your crew, and with their help you eliminate the rest of the guards. You contact command and set about rescuing the other slaves. A few ships arrive to transport the liberated slaves, bringing The Mallard in tow. You return home with your crew to a hero's welcome, and you are awarded the highest military honour: the Golden Egg.\n<html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>\nTHE END

The radio crackles into life, but there is no reply. You spend the next week trying to contact your ship. Over the next few months, you start trying to contact God instead. After an unsuccessful year, you decide to make the radio your god, and carry out ritual sacrifices in its name.\nThe radio is a benevolent god. Its only commandment is that every Tuesday you eat nothing but omelette; this is convenient, as omelette is the only foodstuff you have reliable access to. You muse on this coincidence, until the only thing you can think about is omelette. You become derelict in your duty to God, start learning how to omelette, and eventually even go crazy.<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>

You give the most detailed report that anyone in the history of the universe has ever given. To accurately convey the non-linearity of events, you craft an elegant and visually pleasing choose-your-own-adventure game based on your experience. After exhausting every branch, your commander sits in stunned silence. He decides the best course of action is to court martial you immediately for dereliction of duty, criminal incompetence, and a lot of other words you don't understand. After successfully losing all counts, you are dishonourably discharged from the navy via your ship's aft torpedo bay.<html><img src="Planet1.png" /></html>

You set a course for the location where one of the ships was attacked. There is plenty of debris for you to examine. You find evidence that the slaver wasn't alone and decide to call command to send more ships. The reinforcements soon arrive. You feel fully prepared to take on the slaver.\n<html><img src="Debris.png" /></html>\n[[Confront the slaver]]

<<silently>><<set $goodinfo = 1>><<endsilently>>You head to a station that you used to visit when you need to get information via non-official channels. Luckily, you spot a reliable informant, and he owes you a favour. He tells you where the slaver was last seen, and you part amicably.\n<html><img src="PlanetsSouth.png" /></html>\n[[Go to his last known location]]\n\n<<if ($badinfo eq 0)>>[[Try to get more information|Go to the very dodgy space station]]<<endif>><<if ($badinfo eq 1)>>[[Go to the planet]]<<endif>>

When you enter orbit you discover that this planet is clearly uninhabitable. You dock with the station again and return to the bar. You tell him that his information is out of date, but find yourself facing a loaded gun before you can even bring the conversation around to the topic of a refund.\n<html><img src="PlanetsSouth.png" /></html>\n[[Leave]]\n\n[[Reach for your gun]]

Your hurried tones and emphatic gestures are enough to convince command to send a small fleet after the slaver. You join in the hunt and soon find the person responsible for kidnapping your crew. However, he is not alone - it turns out he has a small fleet of his own. As the ships start engaging each other, you regret not asking for replacement crew. You try to raise the shields, charge the weapons, steer the ship, coordinate the attack and raise your chair all at the same time. If you were an octopus this might have been possible. You curse evolution as your ship explodes. <html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>

The Mallard fires a grapple into the ground near you. You use some of your spelunking equipment to attach yourself safely to the rope. As you unearth the grapple, one of the claws scratches your leg. Your crew hoist you back onto your ship safely. The cut takes a few stitches to patch up, but the ship's doctor assures you it will be as good as new in about a week.\n<html><img src="ShipScene.png" /></html>\n[[Head to the bridge]]

Dejected, you return to camp. You settle down and try to go to sleep when you hear the noise again.\n<html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>\n[[Just ignore it]]\n\n[[Try searching the hills instead]]

You decide that, with no crew, the best thing to do is get some help. You plot a course and return home. As you enter orbit you are contacted by command. They ask what brought you back so early.\n<html><img src="Planet1.png" /></html>\n[[Explain everything]]\n\n[[Tell them you need help to defeat the slaver]]

When you arrive at the bridge your second in command fills you in on the situation. There have been reports of a slaver in the area, attacking ships and abducting their crews. Command wants you to look into it and stop the slaver by any means necessary. After giving her report, your second in command adds that they have been detecting a strange signal coming from a nearby moon. She thinks it could be the slaver's ship.\n<html><img src="ShipScene.png" /></html>\n[[Set a course for the signal]]\n\n[[Investigate one of the derelict ships for clues]]\n\n[[Try to get information from one of your informants]]

As you continue your search, you spot some shapes on the horizon that could be buildings. If you head towards them you might be able to find help, but you will probably never find out what made that noise. On the plus side, you will probably never find out what made that noise.\n<html><img src="Hills.png" /></html>\n[[Carry on searching]]\n\n[[Head towards the buildings|Go east]]

You stumble through the darkness; you hit your shins on almost everything, and a poorly placed table leg comes dangerously close to making all future toilet breaks something of an endeavour. You find a wall-switch that seems to control the lights to the entire building. Flipping it, you hear a small explosion from a nearby room, but think nothing of it. Now that you can see, you quickly find a radio. As you pick it up, your stomach starts to rumble.\n<html><img src="Civilisation.png" /></html>\n[[Order pizza]]\n\n<<if ($crash eq 0)>>[[Contact your ship]]<<endif>><<if ($crash eq 1)>>[[Contact your ship|No reply]]<<endif>>

You set a course for the location where one of the ships was attacked. There is plenty of debris for you to examine. You find evidence that the slaver wasn't alone and decide to call command to send more ships. When they arrive one of the captains informs you that he has heard rumours of where the slaver might be.\n<html><img src="Debris.png" /></html>\n[[Try to obtain more information]]\n\n[[Follow the rumour]]

The radio continues to crackle. You realise that it probably won't stop until you answer it.\n<html><img src="CaveTorch.png" /></html>\n[[Answer your radio]]

You decide that you've wasted too much time searching for the source of the noise, and just try to get some sleep. That morning, you wake up to find that you were mauled in the night. Clearly some wild animal found you and thought that you looked quite tasty. You would try to figure out what kind of animal it was, but you are more distracted by the question of how you managed to wake up despite being obviously dead.<html><img src="Terminus.png" /></html>

You keep on walking towards the glow in the distance. Maybe it's a sign of civilisation? Getting closer, you recognise the smoldering, twisting lump of metal that was once your ship. Stunned, you realise that it is a sign - not of civilisation, but that you're about to lose your no-claims discount.\n<html><img src="Crash.png" /></html>\n[[Fall to your knees in despair]]\n\n[[Head back to your campsite]]\n\n[[Search the wreckage]]

Your crew is taken onboard the slavers ship and locked up. You look for a means of escape and find a small piece of metal that you think you can use to pick the lock on your restraints. Before you get the chance to though your crew is marched out of their cells. You hide the piece of metal and follow. You leave the slavers ship and enter what appears to be an auction house. The slaver starts selling your crew. You manage to pick the lock when no one is watching and steal a gun from a guard. The slaver sees you and draws his gun.\n<html><img src="Battle.png" /></html>\n\n<<if ($eye eq 0)>>[[Shoot the slaver|Success eye]]\n\n[[Tackle the slaver|Leg]]<<endif>><<if ($eye eq 1)>>[[Shoot the slaver|Eye]]\n\n[[Tackle the slaver|Success leg]]<<endif>>

You take out your torch and flick the light on, illuminating a wide fissure carved into the cavern not three paces ahead. You deduce that there must have been an earthquake recently, so head in the opposite direction.\n\nYour radio sparks to life.\n<html><img src="CaveTorch.png" /></html>\n[[Answer your radio]]\n\n[[Ignore your radio]]

The smell of burning plastic fills the air as you approach what used to be your ship. You gag as noxious fumes drift past you. You see that the corridor leading to the bridge has collapsed, but the black box stored there might tell you what happened. On the other hand, the engine room may contain hints as to the source of any malfunction.\n<html><img src="Crash.png" /></html>\n[[Try to reach the black box]]\n\n[[Head to the engine room]]

Astonished by your lack of interest in his impending doom, the ship's cook starts randomly pushing buttons with his eyes closed. Amazingly, this works. After meeting up, and him serving you a dinner composed almost entirely of saliva, he explains what happened. The ship was informed of a notorious slaver operating in the area. After failing to raise you on the comms, they attempted to capture him without you. The operative word in this story is 'attempted'. Having kidnapped all of your crew, the slaver set your ship on a collision course with the planet to cover his tracks. Luckily, the cook managed to avoid detection by hiding in one of his larger cooking pots, leaving him marinated but otherwise content.\nThe cook asks what you should do next.\n<html><img src="ShipScene.png" /></html>\n[[Get revenge]]\n\n[[Head back to command]]